1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for generating media content. Embodiments of the present invention relate to the selection of items of related user generated content for sharing or display to a device other than the device on which the content was captured, and the provision of an audio accompaniment for the user generated content.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been proposed that cloud computing could be used as a repository for both commercial content and user generated content. Commercial content may include for example music content or video content. Business rules or business models may dictate how users are able to obtain access to commercial content. For example music may be streamed to a user on request. This streamed music may be free to the user provided that he is willing to accept the streaming of advertisements along with the music, or to provide personal data in return for the streamed music. Alternatively, a time based subscription may apply, so for example a user may pay a particular sum per month to retrieve streamed music. There may be a capped limit of streamed items or the number of streamed items may be unlimited (optionally subject to a fair use policy). Items may be streamed according to user selection, or a recommendation engine as part of the cloud may dictate which content items are streamed. A user may be able to interact with the recommendation engine to influence its output.
Downloads of music items for example, for transfer to devices that do not have permanent network connectivity may be treated in a similar or different way. For example unlimited downloads may be permissible, or subject to a capped monthly limit, or there may be a charge per download. Downloads may be subject to Digital Rights Management (DRM) limitations, which for example allow a certain number of playbacks in a month, allow a certain number of transfers to distinct devices, or which allow or do not allow streaming across for example a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compliant home network.
A cloud network may also provide a convenient repository for user generated content such as images files and movie files. It can provide a mechanism for convenient access to such user generated content, since it is accessible from any device at any time and allows sharing of access rights to other users.